End of Boot Camp One Mile Run

Well, today was the end run for this round of boot camp which means we do a one mile run test. We do it at the beginning and end to see how far we have come.

I am not a runner....never have been....so and usually the thought of a one mile run scares the beejebees out of me! I have been thinking about this run for a while now and doing some positive self thought and trying to psyche myself up for it. I even wore my favorite workout outfit and had the timer on my watch ready to go so I could watch my time...I even went early so I could stretch more and my arches have been bothering me so the trainer gave me some tips on getting them more stretched so I did that too. I was ready!

So, we started out and once you get going, those negative thoughts start coming in....for me, its hard in the beginning and hard to get going....I first told myself I was going to try to run the whole mile....then I said that I was just trying to beat my time, so if I walked a little, it was okay....and then my stubborn side said NO, WE ARE RUNNING THE ENTIRE TIME!

So, I keep going and I am doing well....I get to the .6 mark and that is where the walkers end their time....so that is tempting because you think "Hey, I can stop right here and be just groovy!" but no, I kept going....when you work out enough, you notice that at some mid-point, you hit a wall and then if you push it and keep going, just give it 1% more and keep going, you break down the wall and then it actually gets easier....you get in your stride and you can even push harder....so at this point I was looking for the wall, in fact I was welcoming the wall because I knew I could bust through it and keep going and it would get easier.....so I kept going and going and then I am around that last turn and I can see the finish line...one of the trainers came and ran with me and encouraged me and another boot camper came and ran behind me and said "I will get behind you and push you!" (Not literally push me, but mentally) and I picked up the pace and I am now running, pretty much all out running....and I keep going and going and going and I am there.....I finished and I RAN the WHOLE WAY!

This is a big deal...this is humongous....this is awesome!

And to beat all that, I shaved 40 seconds off my last time and finished just a hair over 11 minutes! 40 seconds is a long time when you are running!!!!!

So, I was totally stoked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then, we had to do the push up test....we have 1 minute to do as many push ups as we can. I used to do the girly push ups on my knees but this boot camp I decided I was going to do the real full out push ups. My first push up test I did 22 in a minute....and this time I did 36! While that is not that impressive, its still a great improvement!!!


So, I am on a total endorphin high today and feeling like I accomplished something major! And, I went and weighed in yesterday and I have lost 10 pounds during this boot camp, so in one month.

I am feeling GREAT! and STRONG! and AWESOME!

So, the moral of this story is this....I would have never thought that I would be exercising as much as I am now....I never would have thought that I could be this strong.....I never would have thought that I can eat healthy and like it...I never would have thought that I could walk away from a dessert and not be tempted....I never would have thought that I could do this and I have!

Don't tell yourself you can't do something....don't tell youself that you are not worth the effort....don't think that you are weak because we all hit those walls in life and its now time to bust it down....run harder...be stronger...defy the odds....and prove to yourself that you are worth every bit of it!

Love ya all! Happy Friday!

H

High Heels Camp-Day 6

Howdy...

I am back in workout mode and have decided that I am going to run in the Blue Bell 5K in April, so I have combined my normal "High Heels" workout with a "Couch Potato to 5K" program and have High Heels to 5K! So, here is what I did today.....

(By the way, I call it High Heels in reference to the "Boot Camp" workouts that are going on now, I just call mine high heels because I am a lot more likely to wear high heels that boot camp boots!)

So, I am starting slow....

5 minute brisk walk warm up

60 seconds of jogging then 90 seconds of walking....repeat for 20 minutes (I only did 15 today because it started rainy and I tend to get a little clumsy and didn't want to slip.)

Then I did 30 seconds of each of the following...
Squats
Lunges
push ups
sit ups
arm kick backs
arm lateral raises
triceps extensions
(then repeat, starting at the squats and going through the whole thing again for 30 seconds each)

Then I did 2 planks with a short rest in between, one was 45 seconds and the other was 30.

Stretch and cool down

So, I hope you can spare 20-30 minutes to work out too so it will be a fun summer season full of energy and muscle!

Do this 3 times during the first week with a break day in between to get started.

Have a great night!
H

High Heels Camp-Keeping it Real & Cardio Guerilla Workout

Hello All--

You know, life is strange. I have REALLY wanted to work out the last few days but my body just has not agreed with me, so forgive me for slacking a little here when I should be kicking my own butt. My knee scab is doing well but its at that gross thick crusty glassed over stage of a scab and it really hurts to kneel or move it too much. I was able to ride the bike for about 20 minutes yesterday morning and it was okay, I just haven't been able to do too much else. Also, its been SNOWING HERE...which may not seem weird to some of you but its REALLY weird to us in South Texas. We have had 2 days of snow! Just to give you an idea, Tuesday it was 77 degrees early afternoon and after night fall it was 47 and then it went to 34 about 3am and started snowing. It kept snowing...then stopped and then in the afternoon, we had a snow storm! Then it got to 27 degrees last night.....brrrr.....and now its up in the 40s and should be in the 50s tomorrow and possibly 80s this weekend....Texas weather can drive you crazy!

So anyway, I have been wanting to go walking or running again but its going to take a lot of motivation for me to get out in freezing weather...and I mean A LOT of motivation.

So....I plan on getting back on the bandwagon and working out more in the next few days. I am hoping my knee will stop looking so gross and will be easily bendable soon!

In the meantime, this is one of my new workouts that I have tried and I really like it. Its fast paced so you want to transition from one exercise to the other very quickly so you keep your cardio going which doing strength training as well. Its a take off of what is called the cardio guerrilla workout.

5 minute easy warm up (I do zombie walk, high knees slow, lunge steps, grapevine, hurdle walk, high knees fast, and tip toe walk up and down my drive way or across my yard)

1 minute Jog a lap or in place
1 minute of arm kickbacks with hand weights
2 minutes Turkish Get Ups (hold weight over your head and go from standing up to laying down over and over)
1 minute wall sits
3 minutes Mountain Climbers
1 minute easy waist twisters with hand weight on your belly button
4 minutes -Run/Jog 1 minute, 1 minute jumping jacks rotating (this is when it gets hard so push it!)
1 minute easy arm curls with hand weights
3 minutes 1 minute squats, 1 minute lunges, 1 minute stair steps (find a step)
1 minute sit ups
2 minutes-1 minute of push ups and 1 minute of Mountain Climbers
1 minute easy of a plank
1 minutes as fast as you can-Jumping Jacks (GO HARD, make it count!)
2 minute cool down

They say that if you do this type of pyramid workout 3 times a week that it can do great things!

I plan on doing this tomorrow...no more excuses!

High Heels Camp-Day 4

Well, I admit, I did NOT want to work out tonight. I was cold all afternoon and it was cold and windy outside and I just wanted to sit on the couch and then go soak in my jacuzzi tub and not do a darn thing. So, I did. I just got in the tub and warmed up and felt better and then I felt like I should go workout so I did. Again, not a terribly hard workout but its better than sitting on the couch or soaking in the tub and then going to bed...although both those things are way fun.

So, this is what I did. I set my stationary bike to 40 minutes, I set it on a course that was mainly in the middle of the difficulty scale but it still had a few ups and downs, then I took my short elastic bands and wrapped them around the handlebars and took my long bands and wrapped it around the back of the bottom of the seat...this way I could do my arms at the same time as I was riding the bike. So, for the first 15 minutes of the bike ride, which was in total about 40 + minutes, I did a steady arm workout of varying arm exercises, I did tricep pulls, lateral pulls, kick backs, butterflies, alternating punch ups, shoulder pulls...and probably a few more....for 15 minutes with short breaks in between. It was good! My arms feel great...and by great I mean sore...and I feel a whole lot better than I did earlier. Once I was done with that, I did a minute of push ups (I only did 20, my arms were tired) , a little less than 2 minutes of sit ups (I got in about 60 in a minute and a half), and a plank hold for a minute, then the cobra stretch...then I had to give my son a bath so I had to stop...but there you go!

I worked out when I REALLY did not want to work out...so that is a victory in itself. But my bike ride said I burned over 300 calories and went over 13 Kilometers...which is no world land speed record but its something!

So, stop reading this and go lift something...then push something...then exercise something...and do it over and over and over again until it feels like it might fall off...then do it some more!

Change your life for the better...and change it for good!

Love ya!
H

Boot camp Update

Well its Friday and I have lasted through another week of torture...I mean boot camp! I hate to admit that I actually feel like I am addicted to it. I feel so great when I am done...even when I can't move my arms to drive home...and I am always so impressed that I was able to accomplish what I did in the workout.

Today we did this monstrous thing...I don't know what it was called...some kind of fitness torture...where we went around the amphitheater and park where we worked out and did all these different exercises...for instance, we ran up and down some stairs 5 times...okay, I can handle that...then we did bench steps, where you step up from the ground to the picnic bench 15 times on each leg, which might be harder for people like me with little short stubby legs!...then we ran to the play ground to do these leg raises...then we had to put these big rubber bands around our ankles and shuffle up and down a hill....then we did 50 lunges and 50 jumping jacks...anyway, you get my drift...oh and did I mention this was a race?? There were 10 stations of torture and it was totally exhausting, first group done wins! (My main goal was not winning but surviving.) I was breathing hard and everything was hurting. The head trainer picked our group to work out with...oh joy...so he was pushing us the whole time and he had figured out what order to do the 10 in so that you didn't have to spend so much time running from one place to another and he encouraged us and pushed us...and low and behold my group won! We won 2 coupons for free salads at a local restaurant...hey, I will take free food. But anyway...there were plenty of times that I thought I could NOT finish but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and we did it! It was such an accomplishment especially since one of the groups had 2 trainers in it so you knew they would finish first.

Anyway, my point is to do something for yourself! Do something to make yourself healthier! I just kick myself that I let myself gain this weight and let this go on so long. I put on about 25 pounds when I was going through my 6 years of infertility, I put on about 20 when I got pregnant...I lost the pregnancy weight in no time (mine was all water weight, I had the biggest cankles this side of the Mississippi...canckles are when your calf and your ankle become one with no indention for your ankle, its lovely.). But those other pounds just hung on for dear life. I dieted here and there and would lose it and then gain it back...not any more. I know that its not about the size its about fitness and keeping your body healthy...although loosing 3 sizes would be awesome and I hope it happens...I have a story for you...

I have a cousin who was a competitive swimmer, he was in great shape! One night he was hit by a car that was drag racing down the road. It broke his bones and severely injured him. They thought it would be probably 6 months to a year before he could even walk again. But this guy was in shape...he was in excellent shape and his body healed and healed quickly. He was up on crutches in something like 6 weeks and walked shortly after that. To me, that became a testament to good fitness...you take care of your body and it will take care of you!

So, now do something...start with 20 push-ups and 20 sit-ups...or start with 10...do what you can but push yourself! Then add in some walking...walk across your living room 10 times while doing high knee marches, then 10 times with a walking lunge, then 10 times walking on your tip toes. Just do something and get started! Then keep going and do more. This is not easy so push yourself and don't be a wimp! What are you afraid of? Failure? You are not going to fail if you are true to yourself and persevere! Now do it!

Oh, and sit up straight...no slouching! :) Carry your head high! You are a child of God and by golly that means you are important!

Love ya bunches!
H